Philip
Morris and Co have never been a company for hiding their light under
a bushel when they could get away with emblazoning their brands
names legally across the skyline. A number of massive posters adorn
the skyline of Acapulco and the author regrets he did not have the
time to examine them more fully. This marvellous example

would appeal to
anyone who reveres Western movies and cowboy myths. It requires
a modicum of cognitive effort to complete the brand name but otherwise
seems innocuous. Innocuous that is apart from the SX barely evident
in the bottom right hand corner of the poster - and this may be
an artefact of the photographic process.

The
same cannot be said for the second large Marlboro poster, found
situated close to the city square. This next poster is
almost hidden by an extensive spider's web of power and telephone
cables but the key manipulative features are still evident. In this
instance, Marlboro country clearly resides between the legs of the
cowboy, the area of human anatomy in which the brains of many men
are supposed to reside. See below for the explanation.

Note
first that above the word Country there is a long phallic shape
(presumably intended to be consciously perceived as a long low lying
cloud). This is complemented by the cowboy's 'third leg'. This euphemism
for the penis is presented visually in this ad by rather awkwardly
placing one of the horses legs in between the legs of the cowboy.
Overall the ad conveys a rather sexy message that would not be noticed
by any casual observor.

Camel
cigarette ads needless to say do
not leave the Mexican semi-subliminal field clear for Marlboro although
no examples can be shown here. However, it was evident that
Camel cigarette packs are also the same the world over. Despite
the English labelling on the front of the Camel Filters Hard Pack
the pack illustrated on the right was produced in Mexico. On both
the top and bottom of the pack it is clearly stated that this is
a Camel Filters Hard Pack. Noticeably to the author, the word 'hard'
did not simply refer to the pack. Note the clearly delineated phallic
protrusion on the manikin, just above the forelegs of the Camel.
This should show up without any difficulty on the rollover. The
other Camel brand on display at the same time (Camel Lights) had
a distinctly less obvious 'hard on', presumably because this aspect
of the logo was less relevant to those who prefer Light cigarettes.

For
a barely discernable deviation from phallic elements in ads cigarette
ads take a look at the Guess Jeans ad on the left. If the surfboard
was intended to be a representation of the male organ then it probably
would win any outsize competition. But it is probably just meant
to be a surfboard.

A
streak of paranoia might be helpful when one is trying to detect
'faces' in ads but, in Acapulco, simply being aware that such elements
exist in Pepsi ads is sufficient. Elsewhere on this site various
Pepsi and Coke ads were analysed to show
that they contained semi-subliminal
elements. Many of the Pepsi ads evident in Mexico also contain semi-subliminal
'faces'. These tend to depict thirst. The most notable examples
were found on the revolving signs above many bus stop shelters (left)
and on other revolving signs (right).

In
the bottom right hand corner of the bus stop signs
could be found
a number of different faces. Which one(s) would
be evident to any viewer would depend upon ones
focal point. The most easy to perceive is a little
round face to the left of the dark area underneath
the neck of the bottle (not distinguishable in this
photograph). Another bearlike 'face' with an open
mouth can be perceived if the dark area towards
the bottom is perceived as the mouth. This shows
up much more readily in the equivalent promotional
ad found on the side of delivery trucks (see the
rollover for this image).

The
Coke Wars Page also noted that
Pepsi Max labels had been 'doctored'. Mexican Pepsi labels show
some signs also of this artwork,
although the faces are not as clear as on the Pepsi Max Label. In
fact, in this instance - and in the adverts noted above - it would
seem almost as though Pepsi were plugging a 'negative' message associated
with thirst and discomfort, rather than the pleasurable message
promoted in cooler countries.

To
conclude this section, and to be fair to Pepsi's
biggest competitor, one should note that Coca-Cola also have carried
their semi-subliminal competition south of the border. Here is an
example of a Coke delivery van displaying the 'gremlin' splash noted
on the Coke Wars page.

El espot publicitario : Las metamorfosis
del deseo

by Jesús González
Roquena (1995) Ediciones Cátedra, S.A. , Madrid.

ISBN 8437613108

Fun in Acapulco

The
Mexican and other Spanish language ads discussed above were collected
when browsing through magazines whilst the author and his partner
were in Acapulco and Mexico City in late December, 2000. If you
would like to follow in his tracks and sample the beaches, historical
locations and night-life or simply veg out on the beach or by the
pool, rather than look for semi-subliminal and manipulative advertising,
and don't know where to begin, here are a few suggestions.

Off
the beaten track for most tourists (apart from their trip to see
the cliff divers) is the older part of Acapulco, past the Zocala
(city square) and only a few pesos extra by taxi - even less by
bus. Four pesos will take you all the way by air conditioned bus
from most hotels on the tourist beach. For only three pesos you
can rough it and share the local boneshakers.

This
area used to be the haunt of the rich and famous in the 1960's.
Elvis Presley filmed Fun in Acapulco here and the area still
attracts groups wanting to film with an authentic and distinctive
background. Now rather run down, the area still has loads of character
(though the public toilets need upgrading if the local council wishes
to attract a lot of foreign tourists). It is well worth a visit
as a contrast to the 'same world scene' found along the tourist
beach and virtually every other tourist beach around the world.

On
Playa Caletilla (beach) check out the Restaurant Bombu for a cold
beer, non alcoholic or alcoholic fruit drinks or a delicious meal
(expect a whole fish in your fish soup). Ask for Pedro Martínez
by name (if he doesn't 'pick you up' at the bus stop or as you wander
round the beach) and you'll get service with a smile from a lovely
man whose English is better than mine. That's him having a drink
in the photograph below along with my partner Pat.

The
restaurant seating on the beach doesn't have air conditioning but
it does have a lovely tree canopy you can shelter under all day.
Chill out and enjoy the local atmosphere for
a couple of days. Pedro can also help you with self catering holiday
apartments: available by the week (around $25 per day). For further
information contact

For
a guided tour around town at a reasonable price with an excellent
taxi driver in a comfortable cab check out
Miguel A. Jimenez and his taxi (No. 1781). You need a good driver
to help you feel safe when travelling around the main roads of Acapulco
and Miguel is one of the best. The driving has to be seen to be
believed when traffic jams occur and it can take between 5 to 10
minutes to cross the main Costera without risking life and limb.

Miguel's
classic American cab can often be found at the Costa Club Hotel
taxi rank or by phoning 04474 088769. Miguel will also be happy
to take you to any place you find of interest in and around the
city: check out the Mayan Palace Hotel and the beaches and lagoons
to the south of the city; the old town; Wal-Mart (ahem); the cliff
divers at night, in particular the late night show at 10.30 gives
really good value; the various markets. Not to be missed if you
enjoy eating out is a night at Senor Frog's Restaurant and Bar.
Forget the Hard Rock Cafe and Cafe Hollywood, Senor Frog really
is something different with fabulous views across the bay (and great
T shirts also).

About
two hours taxi hire would normally cost relatively little, somewhere
between £10-£20($14-$28) depending upon how far one
travelled. For the more adventurous Acapulco and district also offers
bungee jumping, jet boat rides, paragliding, trips to Mexico City
and other places of interest. And of course, dozens of interesting
beach bars, hotel lounges, swimming pools and sun, sand and sailing.

El espot publicitario : Las metamorfosis
del deseo

by Jesús González
Roquena (1995) Ediciones Cátedra, S.A. , Madrid.

ISBN 8437613108

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